Strike Witches

[pyat]

Should I thank commanderteddog for pointing me to Strike Witches, a manga series of novels, or possibly just action figures, turned into an anime series?

Let's review:

1. Aliens invade Earth in the late 30s.
2. Humanity unites against them, and WWII doesn't happen.
3. A blend of magic and technology is needed to fight them.
4. Only teenage girls between the ages of 14 and 19 have the right combination of athleticism and magic potential.
5. Using the magic makes them grow ears and a tail.
6. The girls are named for real-world fighter aces, except with feminized names. (As Teddog put it, "Poor, poor Billy Bishop.")
7. They wear "boots" that turn them into living fighter planes.
8. The special technology of the "boots" requires a direct contact with skin.
9. So, they can't wear pants. You never know when an emergency might arise!

Teenage Pantless Robot Furry Witches.

And one several of them is are a Nazi!

Comments

[dronon.livejournal.com]

...

Umm... score 9/10 for insane premise but 0/10 for fanboy pandering...

I can't help but wonder if the Japanese use focus groups to come up with some of this stuff, what they determine is a show's target demographic, and how to appeal to them.

[relee.livejournal.com]

Near as I can tell most Anime are based on Manga, and most Manga are produced by amatuers with very specific fetishes.

[dagoski.livejournal.com]

0 out of 10 for fan boy pandering? I disagree.

14-19 girls: check
no pants: check
gratuitous 360 camera pans: check
big guns: check
extended drum magazines: check
Girl in British military uniforms: check
Girl in Nazi uniform: check
pointy cat ears on girls: check
tails on firmly rounded buttocks of girls:check
girl with eyepatch: check

That's a perfect 10 out of 10 on the fanboy pandering. This series is awesome! It couldn't be any cooler unless they had a chick in the top, just the top, of a Winter War Finnish Army uniform just like the one my wife wears when I'm good.

[commanderteddog.livejournal.com]

I shouldn't be tempting stupidity, but how close is this to the proper uniform?

http://myucon.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/juutilainen2.jpg

(Yes, I've been reading up enough on this fest of insanity to discover that one character is Finnish)

[dagoski.livejournal.com]

Uhh... Wow. I just saying something outlandish. I know which Osprey publications book I'm gonna buy next. Oh, wait, there's actually, seriously, a series of picture books featuring women dressed in various historical military uniforms from the Napoleanic Era on up through... Probably Vietnam era by this point. Naturally the uniforms are totally accurate, two sizes two small and missing important pieces.